It Could Happen Here - We Are Not Numbers, We Are People: A Conversation with Gaza Parkour (part 2)

Episode Date: April 30, 2024

The second half of our conversation with Ahmed and Abdullah. In this episode we talk about grieving the loss of their friends and how solidarity and protest outside Gaza has made an impact on them. Support Ahmed’s family here https://gofund.me/f6b1f7be See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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That's iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into tech's elite and how they've turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, Better Offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech brought to you by an industry veteran with nothing to lose. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts from. Since October 7th, Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians,

many of them children. All over the world, people have taken to the streets to call for an end to the killing, to show solidarity with the people of Palestine amidst their genocide. This is an unprecedented act of solidarity, but it's also been a long time coming, and we wanted to know how it made Ahmed and Abdullah feel. I walk in the streets here in Sweden and I see the people wearing the kofiya, the Palestinian kofiya. And it's something that makes me feel for sure happy and to see that the people start to be aware of what's going on in Palestine and Gaza,

start to understand that we have an occupation, that finally you need to look in our cause and solve it. This is Palestine, this is Palestinians, that they need their freedom, they need to live as any other person on this earth. And to see this support of the people, it's the most important for us to live. Och att se denna stöd av människorna är det viktigaste för oss att leva. Det ger oss en känsla av frihet, när vi inte är fria än. Det ger oss hopp att något kommer att hända i framtiden.

something will happen in the future it's because it's a story of oppressed people who have been suffering suffering for years and i guess these people need attention need more effort of the people so they can get their freedom as as they have when they have done about the black life matters and it's also it should it should come from the people that's how the world get affected if the people go against their governments against the the decisions of their leaders that's what gonna change the public opinion the the leaders opinion also i wanted to ask about like people want to help now more than i think they ever have in this country people are aware people who weren't aware before people who couldn't have told you like where like palestine was in relation to the map maybe now want to help help. And that's cool. That's great.

Like I think obviously people have a lot of learning to do because this isn't an issue that's been very well covered by the media in the U S for decades, right? The media in this country has also dedicated itself to dehumanizing Muslim people for a very long time, but extensively over the last 20 years. So like two things that come out of that. I want to ask, like, if people want to help where, and they have money, that tends to be the easiest way to make a difference, right.

But you've told me before that a lot of the NGOs, your parents, your families end up buying the food that gets donated. So is there an NGO that, that is better? end up buying the food that gets donated so is there an NGO that that is better and then like what can people do to learn I guess like to learn more I mean either from you guys or things or books or films that you think are good I mean the all the companies or the organizations that works in Gaza yeah for sure they're trying their best but yeah as you have seen that most of the trucks are standing outside Rafah crossing and they are just allowing 200 trucks a day for two million people who are hungry who are suffering so yeah for sure like

So, yeah, for sure, like, the food is not enough. And when someone wants to get this food, he or she, they have to buy the food. And it's more than 10 times more expensive than what it was before. And sometimes it reaches even more. And even the vegetables, it's like higher than the prices here in Europe. Imagine like a country under a war, no work, no jobs, everything is stopped and the prices are going higher and higher because the stuff is very limited and the food is limited and everything is limited so for sure like people want to sell the stuff that they have so they can earn money so they can buy another stuff and that's how the people are doing in gaza so if they get something maybe for free which is very rare that it happened because it's too many people and for example my family are buying the food and i know how it is for them

that it is hard for them to get the stuff that they even need because all what they have is food that is packed in cans beans mostly beans actually And that's what they have. Everything they tell me, we have been eating beans or a lot of beans and pasta. And they buy this stuff. It's not that it's for free. Sometimes every other month, every other two months, they get a bag of flour so they can make bread. And it's not just food aid that can be hard to get your hands on in Gaza. Even sending money is difficult. Yeah, it is starvation for the people. People are

really like suffering from that and cannot imagine how is my family living that situation because I really find it hard these times to even send my family money because of how like most of the offices are closed that can receive money from outside Gaza so it's most of the offices are very busy that they have to stand in a queue for more than 10 hours five hours sometimes and in the end they tell them oh we're sorry we are out of cash and that's what happens yeah and imagine like the same money going and coming back in there so it's sometimes there is nothing in the banks there is nothing in the offices that is exchanging and receiving money from outside like western union is not working anymore moneygram is not

working and now the people are using something like a crypto coin like usdt and and you know to send a hundred dollar for example they take like more than 15 percent of that and then in the same time you also have to pay another 10 percent or five percent for sending because the usdt is not equal with the usd because it's in the crypto coin it's more expensive so you need to pay more dollars to get USDT, and then there they receive it as a dollar. So, yeah, to support, I suggest if anyone wants to support or have the money that wants to support a family

or people in Gaza, the only thing is to actually contact the family that they want to support directly because all the support that goes through the organizations, the international organizations, takes very long time. the international organizations. It takes a very long time. And in the end, it reaches Gaza. And it's not enough for the people.

And then the people have to buy it. It's not that it goes for free. Hey, I'm Jacqueline Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Peace Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me and a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Blacklit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them.

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from actors and artists to musicians and creators, sharing their stories, struggles, and successes. You know it's going to be filled with chisme laughs and all the vibes that you love. Each week we'll explore everything from music and pop culture to deeper topics like identity, community, and breaking down barriers in all sorts of industries. Don't miss out on the fun, el té caliente, and life stories. Join me for Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get into todo lo actual y viral. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast,

and we're kicking off our second season digging into how tech's elite has turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, better offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel winning economists to leading journalists in the field and I'll be digging into why the products you love keep getting worse, and naming and shaming those responsible. Don't get me wrong, though. I love technology. I just hate the people in charge, and want them to get back to building things that actually do things to help real people. I swear to God things can change if we're loud enough,

so join me every week to understand what's happening in the tech industry, and what could be done to make things better. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Check out betteroffline.com. Although millions of people are trapped in Gaza right now, we also know that some Gazans have been able to leave. We've seen fundraisers pop up for people trying to get themselves or their families out of Gaza. We asked Ahmed and Amdallah if they had an idea how much it would cost to leave Gaza right now.

But then imagine Egyptian government are charging $5,000 for each truck entering Gaza. And they're charging every person $5,000 to leave from Gaza. So it's something else to help with. If you want to help someone to leave from Gaza, it's also help our families or something like that, I can say. I I mean I'm trying to get my family out of there because I don't see any better future in Gaza at the moment imagine like this what happened to Gaza will need at least more than 10 years to recover all the schools are destroyed. All the houses, our home is bombed. You know, to rebuild the home,

it's not just about rebuilding a home. Even if the bombing stopped today, the crisis wouldn't. Almost all of Gaza's infrastructure, its hospitals, universities, schools and streets, has been destroyed. There's nothing left in Gaza. There's nowhere to go if you're sick.

There's nowhere to buy food or clothes for your children. There's nowhere to buy the materials to fix your bombed house. Given all of this, it's hard to see a future for people there, which isn't very difficult. So we asked Abdullah and Ahmed about rebuilding. You need to rebuild everything. You know, where will the water water go where will the water come from the electricity everything is bombed you need to build a whole new city which will take at least at least

10 years it's much much more and the affection of it on the people themselves also what they have suffered what they have you know it's gonna take them long time to heal so i think i did not want to take a step a step like this but i will ask in

the end my people who follow me to if they want to support the people and if they want to support any member of my family to get out of Gaza because I don't see it any better and I'm not ready to lose any of my family and yeah imagine like I have a brother who's 12 years old at the moment and I have a sister which turned 16 and another sister which has two kids and one of them was born in the war, like four months old at the moment. What about these kids? What will they do if they stay in gaza and it you can apply that on the rest of gaza people abdullah's family and his his brother's sons his brother's kids uh so yeah that's the best

i don't know but most many many people want to really get out of there at the moment because they think about what happened to Gaza. It will take years. And it's my family's future. And I don't know for how long it will take to fix this future if they stay in Gaza and if they still stay alive. Because if they enter Gaza at the moment my family is in Rafah and close to the borders area with Egypt and that's the only place where are most of the people at the moment like more than one and a half million are staying in a very small area and

if israeli enter rafa that will be just yeah the hugest disaster that would could ever happen on earth that imagine 36 000 people killed and that's the one that is confirmed on the list that they found. But, you know, thousands and thousands are, like, they cannot confirm. Like, they are written unknown. They don't know who they are. And there's thousands under the rubble that they cannot get out, and many missing. thousands under the rubble that they cannot get out and many missing so it can be it could reach to a hundred thousand with together with the injured people and that's not a small number

and imagine if they enter to a place like Rafah that will be just like double what have happened at least I hope that will not happen but I see that Israelis are very decided that they want to do that even if no one would be able to stop them they say and

they would do it even without the support of anyone without the support of the USA or without. And that shows how criminals they are, I can say. That they want just to slaughter all the people in Gaza. They don't care about civilian or not civilian. Yeah, I want to do my best to help my family and I see I have to take them to a safer place and I don't know if it's possible if they

stay in Gaza. Like anyone else, Ahmed and Abdullah want their families to be safe. But because they were born in Palestine, they don't have the privilege of not having to constantly worry about their family's safety. They also don't get to be the ones making choices that impact their safety. Instead, these choices are made by other people. Those people don't know Ahmed and Abdullah or their families. They might be IDF drone operators or US diplomats. To those people, their families are just numbers. But to Ahmed and Abdullah, their families are their whole world.

How it works to get people out of Gaza is like you have to send someone in Egypt to pay for the government in Egypt. So they put their names in the list of Rafah borders so they can travel. That's how it works. And they charge every person at least 5,000. You pay more than you are able to leave earlier. If you don't pay or you pay 5,000, you stay and wait in the queue. If you don't pay, you die in Gaza.

You're worth nothing. That's how it is. I don't know how it is for Abdullah how does he feel about the future of Gaza at the moment how do you feel like for the next 10 years watching your family I cannot imagine that's the thing that's why it lead me

to steps like that because I always never wanted to my family are very you know loving to the country that they don't want to leave Gaza and my mother was like no we build home first and I was telling trying to convince her by just explaining the situation and the next 10 years from now which is another disaster after the war which is make her understand more yeah for so true to think about her a children future and yeah but in the same time i understand the love for the country. I always love Gaza and I even have Gaza and everything in my life. I have it in my name, even like I always, if I say my name, I say I'm Matar Gaza as my name.

You know, I don't say I am Ahmed Matar, but in my social media, even it says Matar Gaza since since always not during the war and it's because I'm proud to be from there because it's the place that taught me the strength it gave me the power it gave me like it taught me a lot of values that I use in my life at the moment that made me patient, made me strong. And that's what is Gaza. It made me the person I am, that I always hope and I always dream. I always have an extra dream because we always dream as people from Gaza. Abdullah told us that his family is similar to Ahmed's, not wanting to leave Gaza because of their love of the land. Their priorities are to help their families. He said that when people

ask him, how can I help? His view is that everyone has their own way of supporting. It does not necessarily have to mean financial help if that is not a possibility for someone. He stressed the importance of posting on social media to continue spreading awareness and how the Palestinian struggle is a struggle that concerns all of humanity. You know, at the beginning I was thinking like, I want to go to Gaza directly after this or during the war,

but the worse I see it, the harder it makes it. Even if I go, what will it help with my family like home is destroyed everything is destroyed not just our home our all area like our neighbors everything our or our hood is destroyed which is as, as we said, would take a long time to fix. So going to Gaza, yeah, for sure it can help. But in the same time, in the long run, it's not the thing that will make a change for my family's safety and future. And that's why, I don't know, I am stuck between two things, like going to the place where I grow,

where I learned all of these values to be strong. But in the same time, living life where everything is destroyed where you don't have a future or decide to be in a safer place where you maybe fix a future but away from your country from your heart because you know for us g Gaza is our heart. We really love Gaza. We care about everything in Gaza. But. That's where I'm stuck. Between.

Safety and future. And the heart. Gaza. The place where we love. We really appreciate you both of you guys. Sharing your feelings. And your stories. And I think Abdullah made a great point about how even if you can't support financially there's a huge benefit of continuing to share posts about palestine and continuing to talk about it and

not letting life just go as usual and making people remember what's happening and not letting them forget so i think that's important to remember for all the listeners just if you're able like the least we can do is talk about palestine that's the very least very least you can do thank you it was a pleasure a pleasure to talk to you and share this story with you for sure and to tell you the situation of every person who's living outside Gaza away from their families that's I guess not just me not just Abdullah it's every Palestinian from Gaza who's living away from their family they are really suffering I can say because we are not living normal since this genocide started in Gaza and we hope it will end soon so we can see our families and yeah stop the

killing of this people from this children because it has been a war and a genocide on the children women innocents uh more than 15 000 children have been killed and much more disappearing and the yeah women and so it's more than 70 percent of the people who have been killed are women and children and also breast is L3 and men, teenagers. Guys, where can people, if they want to follow along, like to hear

more from you guys, just to see your stories, where can they find you, like on social media or online? You can find me on my Instagram, Matar Gaza. That's my your media or online you can find me on my instagram matar gaza abdul kassab 23

that's my account on instagram as ahmed was saying i mean we appreciate everything

we are i mean we are here because also we really want as much as people to know

about it and just to think and to know that you know gazans and palestinians they Gazans and Palestinians they are not really numbers they are people they are people that everybody has really heart

and is beating all the time and have feelings we have everything that any human being in this world and this world as in as everybody is really listening right now and we are all equal. There's nobody better than the other one. At the end, we are all the same. So we are not numbers. I would like that

everybody remember this. There's so many and so much really bigger stories behind everyone. Everyone that will really so many and so much really bigger stories behind everyone everyone that was really killed everyone has a family and you have to think

what if there is just you know a person that he lost everyone from his family that's one story that person that he lost his kid that's another story that person lost his mom that's one story. The other person that he lost his kid, that's another story. The other person lost his mom, that's another story. The other person lost his dad, that's another

stupid story. So everybody has his own story. That's why I'm just trying to show that we are not just numbers. There are so many other things that we have and we would feel often. So even though the people that are still

alive and they are alive, they are dead. They're not alive because literally they have nothing, even whether they lost someone in the family or whether they can die even from hunger. Thank you guys so much. Yeah, thank you. Thank you both. We really appreciate it. Thank you. Hey, everyone. It's me, James. I hope you found those enlightening. I know they're difficult to listen to, but I think they're important as well. I just wanted to update the end

of the episode to let you know that Ahmed has made a fundraising page. He's raising funds for his family who are still trapped in Gaza. If you'd like to donate to that, we will include the link in the show notes, but I'm also going to read it here just so you can remember it, you're driving or what have you.

It's https colon slash slash go get funding g o g e t f u n d i n g dot com slash matars family m a t a r s f a m i l y i hope if you're able to support them that you will thanks very much it could happen here as a production of Cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, coolzonemedia.com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find sources for It Could Happen Here updated monthly at coolzonemedia.com slash sources. Thanks for listening. Curious about queer sexuality, cruising, and expanding your horizons? Thanks for listening. Sniffy's Cruising Confessions will broaden minds and help you pursue your true goals. You can listen to Sniffy's Cruising Confessions, sponsored by Gilead,

now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. Welcome to Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get real and dive straight into todo lo actual y viral. We're talking musica, los premios, el chisme, and all things trending in my cultura. I'm bringing you all the latest happening in our entertainment world and some fun and impactful interviews with your favorite Latin artists, comedians, actors, and influencers. Each week, we get deep and raw life stories, combos on the issues that matter to us,

and it's all packed with gems, fun, straight-up comedia, and that's a song that only Nuestra Gente can sprinkle. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into Tex Elite and how they've turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, Better Offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of

tech brought to you by an industry veteran with nothing to lose. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts from.